Buy it!

I'm not typically one to encourage consumerism but... Goto your iTunes right now and download the song called "Actions Speak Louder"! It is a hip-hop song by Swoope, Tedashii, LeCrae, and Jai. 100% of the profit from the single goes to build an orphanage in the Sudan through the organization His Voice for Sudan.

An amazing testimony and an urgent prayer request!

My long time friends Dan and Kelly Parkins out in California had a baby on Dec. 5th; his name is Samuel. He was born without lungs, and has other medical problems. All the specialists feel that it is time to take Samuel off of life support tomorrow, 12-24. Please pray for strength for Dan and Kelly, their families, and Dan's church "body".

You can read Dan's most recent, and very moving blog post HERE.

Video of the day...

Lyrics of the day...

WOW! So cool!

(geeking out)

Reminds me of a song by one of my favorite hardcore bands...

"The moon will turn to fire, the sky to ash, 

sickles reaping all of us, faithful or not.

Then you will see Christ coming back, 

saving all of us from this torture and death."

-Alove for Enemies

Top 33 albums of the Decade...

What an incredible decade of music! Below are my picks for the top 3 albums from each of the past 10 years. They have encouraged me, lulled me to sleep, made me drive fast, and have brought vast amounts of joy to my heart. This is barely scratching the surface of the music that has influenced me...


2010:

• Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More
• JBM - Not Even In July
• Angels & Airwaves - Love

2009:

• Mewithoutyou - It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All A Dream! It's Alright!
• Monsters of Folk - Monsters of Folk
• More Than This - Many Voices One Heart

2008:

• Coldplay - Viva La Vida
• Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
• Underoath - Lost in the Sound of Separation

2007:

• The National - Boxer
• Glen Hansard - Once
• Gregory Alan Isakov - That Sea, The Gamber

2006:

• New Found Glory - Coming Home
• Band of Horses - Everything All the Time
• Cartel - Chroma

2005:

• Sufjan Stevens - Come On Feel the Illinoise!
• Shout Out Louds - Howl Howl Gaff Gaff
• Jack's Mannequin - Everything in Transit

2004:

• Modest Mouse - Good News for People Who Love Bad News
• U2 - How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
• Arcade Fire - Funeral

2003:

• Appleseed Cast - Two Conversations
• Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlanticism
• The Shins - Chutes to Narrow

2002:

• Yellowcard - The Underdog [EP]
• Squad Five-O - Squad Five-O
• The Lyndsay Diaries - The Tops of Trees are on Fire

2001:

• The Shins - Oh, Inverted World
• Plankeye - Strange Exchange
• Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American

2000:

• The Violet Burning - Faith and Devotions of a Satellite Heart
• Good Charlotte - Good Charlotte
• Dashboard Confessional - Swiss Army Romance

I have an American Dream...

Here recently I've become more concerned with my finances. Honestly this is something I should have been keeping up with for years but it is easy to think, "I make plenty of money. No need to keep tabs on it. I'll be fine." HA HA riiiiiight. That's until you find that you have $Ø in your checking account. And I don't mean the band Underoath, I mean zero dollars.


I have started listening to Dave Ramsey on the radio when I get to work, as he's on in the late afternoon. One thing that I noticed right away is how rude and cocky he is aside from his sickening syrupy sweet "Christianity". He is like the Dr. Phil of money. They both might have good things to say, but being demeaning and arrogant is no way to communicate your wisdom. (Just a little heads up for those of you who were thinking about taking that path.)


Over and over Dave tells listeners to "Live like no one else". This is tied to his worldview which is shaped by money, of which he's bound to have millions. I have to agree with him that we shouldn't live in debt. That we should know where our money is spent. And it is wise to save. But his worldview doesn't stop there. To me it seems that he encourages his listeners to make a crap ton of money and use it wisely, because it will solve their problems, and make them happy. He is an ardent supporter of the American Dream which is inherently selfish. Sure he's "giving away" money and books this Christmas, but those things aren't coming out of his pocket, and it is great marketing.

"When does the American Dream become everyone else's nightmare?"

-Me

I don't mean to slander the guy, but want to remind you that having money or not having money shouldn't be the root of your joy. It shouldn't be why you live. It shouldn't be what regulates your service to others.


"Somewhere along the way we had missed what is radical about our faith and replaced it with what is comfortable. We were settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves when the central message of Christianity is actually about abandoning ourselves."
-From the book RADICAL by David Platt


Let's live like no one else because:
THEY WILL KNOW WE ARE CHRISTIANS BY OUR LOVE...
   

Lyrics of the day...

Yeah we're ungrateful
Yeah we're ungrateful for
Holy books, religious men
Values of beauty, original sin
And all this time we unwind it
I won't give up, I'm not afraid

Resister go
As long as it takes
To reverse the hypocrisy
-From, Chalk Line by Strike Anywhere

Quote of the day...

"How can I aim at the heart of the monster?"
-Caleb Lazaro

Lyrics of the day...

Welcome to 1984 by Anti-Flag


Who would Jesus bomb? Yeah, who would Jesus kill?
The double talk is past surreal
The word of God is now the word of hate
War is peace, and freedom is the Police state
Can't you see the writing on the wall?
Democracy lays trampled on the floor...

You better believe that...
Hell yeah I'm confused for sure what I thought was the New Millennium is 1984!
Mr. Orwell from the grave, adding fresh ink to the page
As the unpresident declares an endless war...
Welcome to 1984!

Feels like Nazi Germany, and Hitler on TV,
As the unpresident spews homophobic speech
Didn't the Allies fight a war to end extremist fascist law
So tell me NOW what the fuck are we fighting for?

I just can not take it anymore
Democracy lays trampled on the floor...
Man, isn't freedom great?!?!

Hell yeah I'm confused for sure what I thought was the New Millennium is 1984!
Mr. Orwell from the grave, adding fresh ink to the page
As the unpresident declares an endless war...

Now we've got...
Armies of peace, armed to the teeth, delivering death to make the world a better place
So celebrate the weapons spending, say a toast to Armageddon, raise some hell!
We're all headed straight to hell!!!

Hell yeah I'm confused for sure what I thought was the New Millennium is 1984!
Mr. Orwell from the grave, adding fresh ink to the page
As the unpresident declares an endless war...
Welcome to 1984!

Holy weight loss!

Back in the summer I took on a personal challenge that I encouraged others to join me in. I termed it No Junk Food June, and while the title seems simple the experience was anything but simple/ easy. That was due to the restrictions I placed on myself. 

*No fast food  *Nothing with corn syrup  *Nothing with MSG  *Only organic produce

Yep. That was the challenge. I'm not preaching that you should do something similar, but just as a WOW moment I dare you to look at the ingredients on the things you purchase next time you're at the store. You'll be hard pressed to to find anything without corn syrup in it, and MSG is a close second. If you take a few minutes to research what doctors have said about those two ingredients, let alone artificial sweeteners, you'll probably rethink what you eat.

In the month of June alone I lost 4 pounds, and as of this morning I've lost 16 pounds!!! Back at the start of the No Junk Food June, I was weighing the most I've ever weighed (228#). While I've not been overly cautious about what in ingest since the challenge ended, I have tried to seek out bread and other products that are free of corn syrup, I've tried to keep up with eating all the fruit I get from my organic food co-op, and I've also been trying to be more active.

I feel great! Not perfect, but great. During the month of June I felt fantastic, and wasn't having those afternoon lulls where I wanted to take a nap. My body and blood sugar felt consistent.

Food. Can't live without it, but we can live better or worse depending on what we're eating. That's food for thought. :)

Help Scum!

My church in Denver, also known as Scum of the Earth Church, was forced to close their doors a few months back because their building which was built in the late 1800's wasn't up to 2010 code. Well duh. 


Scum is an incredible intercity church that is very active in the community. Every week they have a bike repair clinic for their neighbors and Denver's homeless. They also volunteer their time at local ministries to include the Plumfield Cottage School which is a school for homeless kids. Told you they're "incredible".


So... I'm writing to ask you to think about helping our church reopen. Currently we're meeting in another church just 2 blocks away from our building, but obviously we can't stay there indefinitely. Currently there is a non-profit organization that is matching building funds that are donated up to a grand total of $25,000!!! That would get us to the half way point for the renovations that need to be completed to reopen our doors!


Scum's Mission Statement:
We strive to be a church who:
Seeks intimacy with God and honest relationships with others.
Cultivates creativity and uses everyone's gifts.
Asks questions while seeking Truth.
Recognizes our need for a Savior.
Passionately yet respectfully shares the saving love of Christ.
Demonstrates God's love in our community.


Please think about sending a (tax-deductible) donation!

If you do, please mark your check "building fund"

Scum of the Earth Church
P.O. Box 101808
Denver, CO 80250

THANK YOU!

Congrats to my friends at Blood: Water Mission!

My "brothers" from Jars of Clay through their ministry Blood: Water Mission have finally met their goal they were calling the "1000 wells project". This was to raise $7 Million and install wells in 1000 African communities. I'm glad that I was able to partner with them, and encourage others to participate in this grand project.

The Washington Post article HERE...

Lyrics of the day...

"Why's the world ugly when you made it in your image?"
-The Roots

Quote of the day...

"Caring for the poor is one natural overflow and a necessary evidence of the presence of Christ in our hearts. If there is no sign of caring for the poor in our lives, then there is reason to at least question whether Christ is in our hearts."
-From Radical by David Platt

'Tis the season...

Americans will spend about $400 Billion dollars this year on Christmas. Just 4% of that total would end the world's water crisis. It has been estimated that 30,000 people die every day due to lack of clean drinking water. To put that into perspective: Colorado Springs has roughly 400,000 people within its city limits. If people were dying at a rate of 30,000 a day, Colorado Springs would be a ghost town in just under 14 days.

If this kicks you in the gut, or you feel spurred to action; partner with me this Christmas to provide clean-sustainable drinking water to the world's poor. Give directly to Living Water International and then shoot me an email at tim.kippel@gmail.com to let me know what you donated. I'll match all donations up to a grand total of $1,000.

Merry Christmas!

Lyrics of the day...

"I will praise you in this storm."
-Casting Crowns

The winds of change...

About two weeks ago I had a mandatory health screening at work and was told that I had high blood pressure. I was instructed to keep tabs on it for the next couple of weeks and if it remained elevated to consult a doctor. Well, that doctor's visit was this morning. And as they say "Ignorance is bliss".

I've spent all day feeling as if I've been told I'm dying. 

I'm 32 and tonight I start taking blood pressure meds. In fact the same meds my 70 year old dad is taking. What the hell?! This isn't me. This isn't how I want to live. I've always been doctorphobic and seeing that I was Straight-Edge for a time I'm still not too keen on taking drugs let alone taking them for the rest of my life.

While I know that high blood pressure isn't the end of the world, it truly does feel that my life has been cut short. Maybe I'm just being "dramatic". My girlfriend has definitely accused me of that before. So I'm trying to not freak out. 

Here's to living! Here's to living boldly! Here's to new pastimes and new habits (all before New Year's even)! Here's to living in spite of any setbacks!

"Life is short and these dreams don’t chase themselves. In the face of the brevity of life and the wonders that await in the short span we’ve got, a little fear standing between us and our dreams – whatever they are – seems a poor reason, for not reaching out for those dreams."

-David duChemin

Lyrics of the day...

"I'm too alive to be idle."
-Heath McNease

Quote of the day...

"Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can."
-John Wesley

Lyrics of the day...

The lyrics of the day are dedicated to an unnamed friend who is going through what has to be the most trying time of his life. This is my prayer for you.

Struggling under the pressure from the weight of life.

I fail everyday it all adds up.

I know you are there, but I still feel distant.

Holding on to your truth I try to stand.

Hard pressed and weary give me the strength to remain.

Erase my debt give me the strength to remain.

- Point of Recognition

CHRIST-mas Tree?!?!

Instead of buying one of THESE, venture over to Advent Conspiracy and see how you can really show the world that you believe in the Christ of Christmas.






If you're interested in donating to Living Water International this Christmas, contact me by email: tim.kippel@gmail.com and I'll be willing to match your donations.